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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22828897">Flowers For My Valentine</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weisel/pseuds/Weisel'>Weisel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>No. 6 (Anime &amp; Manga), No. 6 - All Media Types, No. 6 - Asano Atsuko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, Valentine's Day</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 13:14:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,533</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22828897</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weisel/pseuds/Weisel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the first Valentine's Day since Nezumi left and Shion's too busy with work to be worried about getting any Valentines this year.</p><p>My gift for the No.6 Discord server's Valentine exchange!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nezumi/Shion (No. 6)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Flowers For My Valentine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrohir/gifts">elrohir</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Shion climbed the three cracked concrete steps that led to the front door of his first patient’s home, then raised his hand and knocked on the door with the back of his gloved hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning, Miss Sara,” he called through the worn wood. His breath turned to vapor inches from his face in the chilly February air. “It’s Shion. Is Suki ready for her checkup?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shion heard the scrape of a rusty latch on the other side of the door before it creaked open. A tired young woman stood in the entryway with an infant clutched against her chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning, Doctor Shion,” the woman greeted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shion smiled, but didn’t correct her. He’d stopped correcting patients on the misuse of the title as long as they acknowledged at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>once</span>
  </em>
  <span> that they understood he wasn’t an actual doctor. Beyond some basic first aid training, he didn’t have any of the credentials of a medical professional. He wasn’t eager to dissuade any trust from his patients, though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, come in,” Sara said and opened the door wider.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thanking her with a polite nod, Shion stepped inside. The house was almost as chilly as the winter air outside, but the walls at least blocked out any cold gusts of wind, and a small woodstove in the middle of the room provided some warmth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sara locked the door behind Shion before settling down in a rocking chair beside the woodstove. “I’m so sorry, she’s still feeding,” she quickly apologized. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll try to hurry her up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t rush,” Shion replied with a small wave of his hand. “We have plenty of time, and I can have you answer some questions in the meantime.” He pulled a wooden chair over to Sara’s side and opened his medical bag.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sara quietly cooed at the baby in her arms. “You’re almost full, aren’t you, baby?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shion paused and looked up from the electronic tablet he’d pulled out of his bag. “Really, Sara, it’s best not to rush Suki. I don’t mean to be pushy, but discouraging her from feeding could negatively impact her habits.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sara didn’t respond immediately, but gave her baby a gentle pat on the back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s at least what I understand,” Shion said with a nervous laugh. “Oh, um–” He pulled out a neatly wrapped heart-shaped cookie from a paper bag tucked in his bag as well. “I have some cookies from my mom’s bakery. You know, for Valentine’s Day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The slight tension dissipated from the room as Sara took the cookie from Shion’s hand. “Oh, that’s so sweet of her! Give her my thanks,” she said, a genuine smile warming her face. It only took one bite for people to fall in love with Karan’s baking, and Shion suspected it had at </span>
  <em>
    <span>least</span>
  </em>
  <span> a small role in the success of his on-site medical care program. A bright-faced young man offering baked goods that warmed the soul alongside a free medical checkup was apparently quite difficult to resist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sara happily answered Shion’s questionnaire while nibbling on her Valentine cookie, and Shion tapped away at the tablet screen and sipped on a thermos of hot tea he’d brought from home. A year ago, he never would have guessed he’d be rebuilding No.6 piece by piece himself, or rather patient by patient. But perhaps this was exactly how things would have played out if they’d never entered the Correctional Facility. Maybe he would’ve made enough of a name for himself as a medic out in the West Block, nursing the sick back to health by day while Nezumi lifted their spirits at the theater by night. No matter how dark a shadow Nezumi cast over himself, there was no denying he’d brought light to the West Block in his own way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The words that came out of Sara’s mouth next nearly made Shion choke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you get a Valentine’s Day gift from your special friend? Nezumi, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shion stared, stunned into silence and flushed bright red. For a solid five seconds, he was convinced Sara could read his every thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wink if you can read my mind, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought in a moment of desperation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sara did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> wink, thankfully. “I mean, with the way you’ve always talked about him, I assumed he’d be giving you something on Valentine’s Day, especially if your mother is giving out Valentines today. He seems like the type who wouldn’t want to be completely outdone on Valentine’s Day, at least from what you’ve said.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shion parted his lips, but he still had nothing prepared to say. How much </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> he said about Nezumi, at least specifically to Sara?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...He didn’t give you anything, did he?” Sara sighed. “Well, I suppose it’s still early in the day. You’ll have to tell me what he gives you next time I see you. It’ll probably be something classy-like, maybe flowers.” She adjusted the baby in her arms and leaned closer to Shion with a prying eye. “Did he give you anything last year?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shion was fairly certain flowers had been mentioned in the poem Nezumi recited for him last year, but he couldn’t remember the exact words, only the way they brushed against his neck while carried by the breeze of Nezumi’s breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shion rubbed the side of his neck, then took off his coat. “Um. He recited some poetry,” Shion answered with a nervous laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Poetry?” Sara scoffed loudly, then let out a surprisingly hearty laugh. “Oh, goodness, I keep forgetting you’re only seventeen!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I liked it,” Shion admitted bashfully, then ducked his head down and stifled a quiet giggle against the sleeve of his sweater. In retrospect, maybe Nezumi’s gift </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> been something to scoff at, but Shion had fallen for it every step of the way. Nezumi had so elegantly steered the conversation toward an excuse to impress Shion with his knowledge of literature and theatrical abilities, all while casually leaning over the back of the chair where Shion sat as if it were a mere passing comment. Not for the only time in the underground room, Nezumi had left Shion completely speechless and lovestruck. In the moment, nothing could have been more romantic, but boiled down to the simple action of reciting poetry, it sounded terribly juvenile. But that’s just how Nezumi was, always able to make something beautiful and rare out of what others saw as nothing. Had Nezumi recognized that part of himself yet, wherever he was?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doctor, are you gonna be okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ye–</span>
  <em>
    <span>hic–”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Shion buried his face in both hands as it dawned on him that he’d been giggling more than just a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little</span>
  </em>
  <span> bit and had given himself a definite case of the hiccups in the process. Naturally, Sara started laughing again, and even baby Suki joined in. Laughter </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> the best medicine, so at least his humiliation wasn’t entirely a waste.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry, honey,” Sara said with a small chuckle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shion quickly wiped at the corners of his eyes with his sleeve. “Oh, no, no, I wasn’t crying, I–</span>
  <em>
    <span>hic–</span>
  </em>
  <span>was just laughing so hard my eyes watered,” he stammered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you need a minute?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shion hesitated, hiccuped again, then nodded. “Y-Yeah, sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sara responded with an amused hum and gave Shion a comforting pat on the back. “Take your time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The trouble with getting hiccups nowadays was that Shion had a distinct memory of Nezumi getting the hiccups and trying his damn best to hide them, and it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> one of the funniest things he could think of. Now a simple case of the hiccups was a curse that spiraled out of control in a matter of seconds. The strangest part of it all was how the image of Nezumi’s face normally left an ache in Shion’s chest, yet the memory of Nezumi’s angry pout simultaneously left him in hysterics.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there a fancy cure for hiccups?” Sara asked after a particularly loud hiccup.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um. Peanut butter.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hic.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Or drinking upside-down. Do you have any peanut butter, by chance?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sara shook her head. “I don’t, sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s fine.” Shion shut his mouth to stifle another relentless hiccup. He stood up and paced around the small room while taking deep breaths, which did nothing to help. It certainly didn’t help that Sara and Suki would both giggle every time he hiccupped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once in a great, great while, Shion was glad Nezumi was probably on the opposite side of the globe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a heavy sigh, Shion returned to the chair beside Sara. “Really, how much more ca–</span>
  <em>
    <span>hic–”</span>
  </em>
  <span> He sighed again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“...can</span>
  </em>
  <span> I embarrass myself in front of you today?” Swallowing his pride, he carefully positioned himself in the chair so he could attempt to drink from his thermos upside-down. If it wasn’t a surefire cure, he wouldn’t pull a stunt like this while on the job. As expected, Sara and Suki laughed through the entire procedure, but Shion’s hiccups were gone in an instant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did it work?” Sara asked as Shion straightened himself back out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With one last sigh, Shion sat back down in the chair, right-side-up this time, and picked up his tablet. “Yes, I think so. Now, where were we?”</span>
</p>
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